To Whom Shall We Go

To whom shall we go when we are in a crisis situation? To whom shall we go when we labour and are heavy laden because of sin and all of its consequences? In the final analysis all crises result from sin. To whom shall we go when we need help?

To whom shall we go when troubled by guilt? To whom shall we go when we are filled with fear, when we are anxious and worried? To whom shall we go when we become seriously ill? To whom shall we go when there is trouble in the family? To whom shall we go when we are filled with doubt? when we need guidance? when we need strength? To whom shall we go when we lose our jobs, and when there is no food on the table?

To whom shall we go when we are worried about the evils that prevail in our nation? when we are afraid about nuclear weapons? when we are concerned about the immorality all around us? when we are fearful about the violence and crime that threaten us all?

To whom shall we go when our marriage is on the rocks? To whom shall we go when our children ask us how they should live? when they start staying out late? when they reject our guidance – to whom then shall we go?

To whom shall we go when all alone? when the weakness of old age comes upon us? when sickness and death stare us in the face? when faced with the death of a loved one? To whom shall we go?

To whom shall we go if our home is destroyed by flood or fire? To whom shall we go when our car breaks down and fails its MOT? To whom shall we go first in every crisis, in every need?

Going to the right person

In purely material terms it is acceptable to go to those who are experts in their own fields. For the broken-down car we go to the mechanic. For repairs to the house we go to the builder. For the rewiring of the kitchen we seek an electrician.

It is in spiritual crises that people blunder horrendously. Over and over again they wander from one counsellor to another. If they have a drink problem they try the hypnotist. If they have a marriage problem they go to their general practitioner for medication. If they have problems disciplining their children they go to the headmaster. If sex is a problem, then they write a letter to an ‘agony aunt’ in a magazine.

Now there is no denying that sometimes those counsels can give some help, but very often their words do not reach the heart of the problem. They can give harmful advice. They can prescribe sinful cures. They can even encourage immoral actions.

To whom shall we go? Some read their horoscopes for guidance. Others go to séances and try to reach the dead. Going to them is like seeking light in the deepest and darkest dungeon. It is a horrible thing to fall under the influence of those who seek the dead.

To whom shall we go? Some go to drugs. Some go to pubs. Some go to cults of all kinds. Some go to communes. Some go on the road. Some emigrate. Some say they go to science, but who was there when the heavens and the earth were made? Who can run a controlled experiment and print out the proofs and say, ‘God did not create. It all came out of nothing, by chance’? The scientist has no more answers than anyone else to the final questions – Who made me? what is the purpose of life? what lies beyond the grave? who is God? To whom shall we go for answers to these questions? The psalmist tells us, ‘Vain is the help of man’. They are all creatures like ourselves.

To whom shall we go – in every crisis, in every need, material or spiritual? Jesus tells us: ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.’ Go to Him, whatever the dilemma.

‘Come to me!’

Go to Him for forgiveness. He has come into the world to deal with its greatest problem, human sinfulness and rebellion against its creator. He has taken the guilt of our sin to Himself and so has suffered under its load – not for His own wickedness, for He had none, but for ours. Receive that peace which they know whose sins have been forgiven by Jesus Christ.
Go to him for the protection of everything that is yours. Does that sound strange? But there was a man who once had an axe-head retrieved when it had fallen into the water. Remember how the shoes of the Israelites did not wear out in the desert. God rules also in the material things of the world, and does He not tell us to ask Him for daily bread?

Go to Him when you know that death draws near. He is the Resurrection and the Life. He has felt the sting of death and tasted its bitterness in a way that we who trust in Him shall never know. He has warmed the bed of death by lying in that tomb for three days. Death is not cold and fearful to those who have gone to Jesus Christ.

Go to Him, for He has all the resources of heaven and earth at His command. Compare that with what man has to offer you. Jesus can help in any need. By His power you can ford any river, cross any mountain and bear any burden. You can do everything He asks of you with the strength which He supplies. By Him you can forgive seventy times seven. By Him you can love your enemies. By Him you can turn the other cheek when men smite you. If it’s hope you need, you will find it in Him. If it’s patience you pray for, you’ll receive it from Jesus. If gentleness is your longing, then the fullness of gentleness is found in Jesus Christ. His resources are never exhausted. If the whole world should go to Him, He could cope. Go, then, to Him.

Go to Him, for He is accessible always. Wherever and whenever you need Him, He is there. ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’, He says. He is never indifferent to our condition, never annoyed that we are troubling Him again, never untouched by our pain, and never too preoccupied with other things. He won’t mock us, nor turn us away. Instead, He invites us to come to Him, and He promises us rest. Go, then, to Him! To whom else can you go?